Impact of changes to Housing Benefit in June 2010 Budget

This inquiry assesses the implications of the changes to Local Housing Allowance (LHA) announced by the Government in June 2010. These include: setting LHA rates at the 30th percentile of local rents (instead of the 50th percentile); uprating LHA by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) instead of the Retail Price Index (RPI); and capping LHA based on the number of bedrooms in the property. An initial additional proposal to reduce HB payments to 90% of the initial award after 12 months for claimants receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance was subsequently dropped by the Government.

The Committee’s report was published in December 2010. The Government Response was published in March 2011. The Government is conducting a review of the impact of the changes. It says that initial findings will be made available in spring 2012, with an interim report in the summer and a complete report in early 2013.